Tooth whitening apparatus and head gear for tooth whitening apparatus

ABSTRACT

Provided is a tooth whitening apparatus that allows a patient receiving tooth whitening treatment to move freely. By allowing a patient to wear the tooth whitening apparatus like a headphone, the patient is provided with the convenience of being able to move both hands freely and move around during tooth whitening treatment.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a tooth whitening apparatus and headgear for a tooth whitening apparatus. More particularly, the presentdisclosure relates to a tooth whitening apparatus and head gear for atooth whitening apparatus that enable a patient to wear the apparatustogether with the head gear and move freely while receiving toothwhitening treatment.

BACKGROUND ART

As interest in plastic surgery and beauty continues to grow, tooth colorhas become an issue for personal appearance. Teeth can become discoloredfrom their original color to yellow or darker hues due to any number ofreasons, including side effects of drugs, congenital factors, smoking,and food coloring. Whitening teeth is considered by most young womentoday as a beautifying means.

To whiten teeth, however, much time and money must be invested, painmust often be endured over a prolonged period of whitening treatment,and patients are often dissatisfied with the whitening results afterhaving endured extended painful treatment.

In a tooth whitening treatment according to the related art, a patientmust lie still for a long time in a treatment chair while receivingtreatment, which inconveniences both the patient and the dentist.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Embodiments provide a tooth whitening apparatus that can be worn by apatient like headphones, to alleviate the discomfort of tooth whiteningtreatment according to the related art.

Embodiments also provide a tooth whitening apparatus that allows apatient to freely move his/her hands and head while receiving toothwhitening treatment wearing headphone-style head gear, thus permittingbodily movement and providing convenience.

Embodiments also provide a tooth whitening apparatus capable ofmaximizing efficiency of tooth whitening treatments by providing bothpatients and doctors with convenience during treatment.

Technical Solution

In one embodiment, a head gear for a tooth whitening apparatus, the headgear includes: a side support contacting a side of a head; and a toothwhitening apparatus support connected to the side support and on whichthe tooth whitening apparatus is installed.

In another embodiment, a head gear for a tooth whitening apparatus, thehead gear includes: a top support contacting and fixed on a top of ahead; a rear support contacting and fixed at a rear of the head; acoupler connecting the top support to the rear support; a side supportconnected to the coupler and contacting a side of the head; and a toothwhitening apparatus support connected to the side support and on whichthe tooth whitening apparatus is installed.

In further another embodiment, a tooth whitening set includes: a sidesupport contacting a side of a head; a tooth whitening apparatus supportconnected to the side support; and a tooth whitening apparatus installedon the tooth whitening apparatus support to radiate light on teeth.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS

An advantage of the tooth whitening apparatus and head gear according tothe present disclosure is that because a patient is able to wear theapparatus like a headphone, the patient is able to freely move both armsand the head region while receiving tooth whitening treatment. By thusenabling a degree of bodily movement, boredom can be reduced, andstiffness of the neck and shoulders (often following tooth whiteningtreatment) can be alleviated.

Another advantage of the tooth whitening apparatus and head gearaccording to the present disclosure is that because the apparatus andhead gear provide comfort to both patient and doctor during toothwhitening treatment, the effects of the tooth whitening treatment can bemaximized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of head gear for a tooth whiteningapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a frontal view of the head gear in FIG. 1 viewed froma direction A.

FIG. 3 illustrates a rear view of the head gear in FIG. 1 viewed from adirection B.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of the head gear in FIG. 1 viewed from adirection C.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of the head gear in FIG. 1 viewed from adirection D.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the head gear in FIG. 1illustrating examples of its movement.

FIG. 7 illustrates a structural view of a side support according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a cap that couples to the side support in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 illustrates a side view of the cap in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 illustrates a perspective view of a tooth whitening apparatusinstalled on a head gear, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of the tooth whitening apparatusaccording to the present disclosure.

FIGS. 12 and 13 respectively illustrate a plan view and a sectional viewof a light emitting portion forming a tooth whitening apparatusaccording to the present disclosure.

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate light emitting portions of tooth whiteningapparatuses according to different embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 16 and 17 respectively illustrate a sectional view of a lightemitting portion of a tooth whitening apparatus according to otherembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 18 and 19 respectively illustrate a perspective view and asectional view of a body of a light emitting portion forming a toothwhitening apparatus according to other embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, a detailed description of head gear for atooth whitening apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure will be given.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of head gear for a tooth whiteningapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, andFIGS. 2 through 5 respectively illustrate a frontal view, a rear view, atop view, and a side view of the head gear in FIG. 1 as seen fromdirections A, B, C, and D. FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of thehead gear in FIG. 1 illustrating a sliding portion extended outward.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, head gear for a tooth whitening apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a topsupport band 101 that is fixed against the top of a patient's head, arear support band 105 fixed against the posterior of the patient's head,a coupler 103 connecting the top support band 101 to the back supportband 105, a side support 109 pressed against the temples, and awhitening apparatus support 111 connected to the side support 109 tohold a whitening apparatus installed thereon.

The top support band 101 is pressed against the top of the patient'shead to fix the head gear on the patient's head. When the patient wearsthe head gear, the patient may move his/her neck and head without addedsecuring devices and freely use both arms, and is free to roam withinthe range of a power cord. Pads for absorbing shock may be formedpartially or entirely on the top support band 101, increasing thewearer's comfort level, and may employ flexible material such as elasticbands instead of stiff material.

The rear support band 105 is fixed against the rear of the patient'shead, and fixes the head gear on the patient's head (like the topsupport band 101). Pads may be formed partially or entirely on the rearsupport band 105 to improve wearing comfort, and like the top supportband, the rear support band 105 may be formed as a flexible rubber bandinstead of a hard material. The rear support band 105 may be connectedto the top support band 101 through the coupler 103.

The rear support band 105 is pivotable about the axis of the coupler 103in directions indicated by the double-sided arrow 105 a (that is, in avertical direction), and may be adjusted according to the size and shapeof the patient's head.

The rear support band 105 does not have to be connected to the topsupport band 101 by means of the coupler 103. The rear support band 105and the top support band 101 may be connected via other means, or do nothave to be coupled to fix the top and rear of the patient's head.

The side support 109 presses against the patient's temples. It may bemoved within a predetermined range in the direction of the arrows 109 ato accommodate the size and shape of the patient's head. Pads withelasticity may be formed on contacting portion 110 of the side support109 to improve wearing comfort.

According to embodiments, the top support band 101 and the rear supportband 105 may be connected directly to the whitening apparatus supportwithout the intervening side support 109.

Alternately, the side support 109 and the whitening apparatus support111 may be provided without the top support band 101 or the rear supportband 105. In this case, the whitening apparatus may be fixed on thepatient's face by means of ear piece-type supports provided on the sidesupport 109.

According to embodiments, speakers or bone conduction vibrating devicesmay be installed on the side supports 109 and connected to an MP3 audiodevice to enable a patient to enjoy music or radio programs whilereceiving tooth whitening treatment without any additional devices. Aswidely known, a bone conduction vibrating device does not directlytransmit sound into an ear like an earphone, but transmits vibration tothe temples to transmit sound, and is therefore a way of avoiding damageto the eardrums or hearing defects inflicted by the use of earphones. Byinstalling a bone conduction vibrating device on the side support 109, apatient can experience less boredom during tooth whitening treatmentwhile preventing damage to the hearing faculties.

Also, by installing a speaker or bone conduction vibrating device on theside support 109 and installing a display device in the hospital waitingroom or treatment room, the patient is able to watch movies or TV.

Further, audio messages, such as “tooth whitening treatment is nowbeginning” or “there are 3 minutes remaining in your tooth whiteningtreatment”, may be broadcast to a patient via the speaker or boneconduction vibrating device on the side support 109.

In this way, not only are patients less bored, but announcements on theprogress of tooth whitening treatments can be made to patients proximateto a broadcasting device.

According to some embodiments, a button for summoning a doctor or nursemay be provided on the side support 109 or another part of the headgear, or a microphone may be provided near a tooth whitening apparatusholder 117 or a slider 115 in order to allow the patient to deliver anaudio message to a doctor or nurse. Thus, a high level of conveniencecan be afforded to both the patient and doctor during the long time ittakes for a tooth whitening procedure.

FIG. 7 illustrates the inner structure of a side support 109. A rotatingportion 119 may be formed in the shape of a serrated wheel, and arotating button 107 may be disposed such that when it is not pressed,the serrated teeth and the rotating button 107 are engaged to fix theslider connector 113, and the slider connector 113 moves in a rotatingdirection 113 a when the rotating button 107 is pressed to disengagefrom the teeth of the rotating portion.

FIG. 8 is plan view of a cap 123 of a side support 109. The cap 123 forthe side support is inserted and fixed to a fixing portion 121 of theside support 109 in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 illustrates a side view of the cap123 in FIG. 8. Referring to FIG. 9, a contacting portion 110 thatcontacts the sides of a patient's head may be provided on the cap 123,and the contacting portion may have a pad that improves wearing comfort.

As described above, the side support 109 may include a speaker, boneconduction vibrating device, earphone, or other device together with thecontacting portion.

The whitening apparatus support 111 is a portion on which a toothwhitening apparatus 201 is installed, as illustraten in FIG. 10, andincludes the slider connector 113 connected to the side support 109, theslider 115 connected to the slider connector 113, and the toothwhitening apparatus holder 117 connected to the slider and having thetooth whitening apparatus installed thereon.

The slider connector 115 is connected to the side support 109, and isrotatable in the rotating direction indicated by the arrow 113 a bypressing the rotating button 107. By rotating the slider connector, theposition of the tooth whitening apparatus installed on the whiteningapparatus holder 117 can be adjusted to contact a patient's mouth. Theslider 115 may be connected to the slider connector 113 to be slidablyextendable in the direction indicated by the arrow 115 a. FIG. 6illustrates the slider 115 in an extended state. By extending the slider115, the head gear may be adjusted according to the size and shape of apatient's head and jaw.

A slot 118 is provided in the whitening apparatus support 117 to enablethe tooth whitening apparatus 201 to be installed, as illustraten inFIG. 10. Referring to FIG. 10, a whitening apparatus connector 120 inthe form of rail is provided at the bottom of the tooth whiteningapparatus 201, and the whitening apparatus connector 120 is removablyinserted into the slot 118 on the whitening apparatus support 117. Thus,the tooth whitening apparatus may be precisely put into contact with apatient's mouth in accordance with the size and shape of the patient'shead by sliding the whitening apparatus support 117 with the toothwhitening apparatus installed thereon forward or backward with respectto the patient—that is, in the direction of the arrow 127 a.

The whitening apparatus support 117 is capable of being disengaged fromthe slider 115, enabling a patient to apply tooth whitening material onthe patient's teeth without being impeded.

Likewise, the tooth whitening apparatus 201 is also capable of beingremoved from the whitening apparatus support 117, so that it may beremoved while applying whitening material and reinstalled to be used fortooth whitening treatment.

As illustraten in FIG. 10, the slot 118 in which the tooth whiteningapparatus is installed may be rotated in the direction of the arrow 117a independently of other portions, so that it will not interfere whenapplying whitening material on teeth.

During tooth whitening treatment, a patient applies the tooth whiteningapparatus 201 against his/her mouth with the mouth slightly open.According to embodiments, in order to completely seal the toothwhitening apparatus 201 with a patient's mouth, a mouthpiece may beinserted in the patient's mouth and the tooth whitening apparatus 201may be fixed to the mouthpiece.

FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of the tooth whitening apparatus201 according to the present disclosure. As illustraten in FIG. 10, thetooth whitening apparatus 201 may be detachably installed on thewhitening apparatus support 117 through the whitening apparatusconnector 120.

A tooth whitening apparatus 201 according to the present disclosureincludes a light emitting portion 202 that has a plurality of chip lightemitting diodes (LED) arranged to emit light on the teeth, a mouthsealing portion 203 for sealing a patient's mouth against the toothwhitening apparatus, and a coupling portion 204 for coupling the toothwhitening apparatus 201 to the supporter.

FIGS. 12 and 13 respectively illustrate a plan view and a sectional viewof a light emitting portion 202.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the light emitting portion 202 is formed of aplurality of light emitting devices 205 arranged on a printed circuitboard (PCB) 206.

The light emitting devices 205 may be chip LEDs.

LEDs include many types such as ultra bright diffuser LEDs and hyperLEDs used for indoor lighting, automotive brake lights, etc. Of these,chip LEDs are capable of being mounted on a substrate like an integratedcircuit (IC) chip, are smaller than other LED types, and are lightemitting devices that are used as backlights for liquid crystal displays(LCD) in cellular phones, MP3 players, etc.

The size of chip LED used as the light emitting device 205 according tothe present disclosure may differ according to different embodiments,and may be the same size or smaller than a person's tooth. Preferably,the size of a chip LED used as the light emitting device 205 may be 3.5mm×2.8 mm and have a thickness of 0.4 mm.

The angular range of light emitted from the light emitting device 205according to the present disclosure may be approximately 120°-130° inthe direction in which light from the light emitting device 205 isemitted.

The light emitted from the chip LED according to the present disclosureis visible light with a wavelength range between 380 nm-520 nm, and maybe a blue light with a 460 nm wavelength.

The reason for using visible light is that when tooth whitening materialis applied to teeth and light is emitted during tooth whiteningtreatment, the visible rays are more effective at quickly dissolving thewhitening material so that the ingredients for tooth whitening can moreeffectively penetrate the tooth surfaces.

According to different embodiments, the light emitting device 205 usedaccording to the present disclosure may be a metal halide lamp insteadof a chip LED.

According to different embodiments, a heat dissipating fan may beinstalled to dissipate heat generated from the light emitting device205.

The chip LED used as the light emitting device 205 of the toothwhitening apparatus 201 according to the present disclosure uses a lowcurrent of 50 mA-150 mA, that is (depending on the type of whiteningmaterial used) capable of satisfactory tooth whitening when emitted fora duration of approximately 5 minutes or more at a distance of 1-4 cmfrom the patient's teeth.

Also, depending on the condition of the patient's teeth, the currentsupplied to the light emitting device 205 of the tooth whiteningapparatus 201 may be adjusted to reduce the tooth whitening treatmenttime, or emit a suitable intensity of light to obtain suitable resultsfor the condition of the particular patient's teeth.

According to embodiments, a timer may be installed to control thecurrent supplied to the light emitting device 205, in order toautomatically turn off power when a preset whitening duration elapses.

If the current supplied to the light emitting device 205 of the toothwhitening apparatus 201 according to the present disclosure is increasedto approximately 300 mA-350 mA, the apparatus may be used as a curingapparatus that photopolymerizes dental resin used for filling cavitiesand other dental resins for teeth. When dental resin is applied to apatient's tooth, and light is emitted for approximately 1 minute at adistance of less than 1 cm from the resin at an intensity ofapproximately 300 mA-350 mA, sufficient hardening can be obtained.

A factor to consider is that a patient's front teeth are closer to thetooth whitening apparatus 201 than the molars, which are further away.Thus, a weaker current may be supplied to the chip LEDs disposed at thecenter of a substrate 206 corresponding to the front teeth, and astronger current can be supplied to the chip LEDs corresponding to themolars at the edges of the substrate 206, in order to obtain evenwhitening results overall.

FIG. 14 illustrates a light emitting portion 202 of a tooth whiteningapparatus according to other embodiments of the present disclosure.

The light emitting devices are more densely arranged in the edge regionD where the molars are located than in the central region D where thefront teeth are located, and the edge region D is located farther awayfrom the teeth than the central region D. When light is emitteduniformly, light is concentrated in the central region D. Thus, takingthe latter into account, the density of the light emitting devices 205at the central region D is made less than that in the edge region D, inorder to improve uniformity in tooth whitening.

FIG. 15 illustrates a plan view of a light emitting portion 202according to another embodiment.

A patient receives tooth whitening treatment with his/her mouth slightlyopen. However, when the mouth is open, there is an empty space in thecenter between the top and bottom teeth, where there is no need to emitlight. Taking this into account, the mirrors 207 a and 207 b aredisposed at the center of the tooth whitening portion to reflect lightemitted toward the center of the mouth upwards and downwards and augmentthe effects of tooth whitening.

FIGS. 16 and 17 respectively illustrate a sectional view of a lightemitting portion 202 of a tooth whitening apparatus according to otherembodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 16, when considering the shape of a human mouth, lightemitting devices 205 may be arranged on a PCB consisting of three plates208 a, 208 b, and 208 c, instead of on a flat PCB.

The light emitting devices on the side PCBs 208 a and 208 c largely emitlight onto the molars, and those on the middle PCB 208 b largely emitslight onto the front teeth and canines By thus arranging the lightemitting devices, the central region and the edge regions of human teethcan receive light more uniformly.

According to embodiments, a stronger current may be supplied to lightemitting devices on the edge regions 208 a and 208 c of the PCB, and aweaker current may be supplied to light emitting devices on the centralregion 208 b of the PCB to realize uniform whitening of teeth.

Also, as illustraten in FIG. 17, the PCB 209 may have a steppedformation. In the structure illustraten in FIG. 16, light emitted fromthe light emitting devices 205 is incident perpendicularly on teeth toincrease effectiveness of tooth whitening.

According to embodiments, the light emitting devices 205 used by thetooth whitening apparatus 201 may be metal halide lamps instead of chipLEDs.

FIGS. 18 and 19 respectively illustrate a perspective view and asectional view of a body 213 of a light emitting portion 202 forming atooth whitening apparatus 201 according to other embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The body 213 is disposed within the case of thetooth whitening apparatus 201 illustraten in FIG. 11, and functions as aframe for the tooth whitening apparatus 201 with the PCB illustraten inFIGS. 12 to 15 and 16 and 17 installed therein.

The body 213 may be made of a metal—particularly, aluminum. A PCB onwhich light emitting devices are mounted—that is, the light emittingportion 202—is mounted to the front 211 of the body 213, and at therear, a heat sink (not illustraten) that dissipates heat generated bythe light emitting devices 205 or a heat dissipating fan (notillustraten) may be disposed to the rear 212 of the body 213.

A power supply (not illustraten) that supplies direct current to thelight emitting portion of the tooth whitening apparatus 201 may berequired, in which case power may be drawn from an external sourcethrough a cable. Alternately a disposable or rechargeable battery may beinstalled within the tooth whitening apparatus 201 as a power source.However, because installing a battery inside the tooth whiteningapparatus 201 would make the apparatus heavy and therefore uncomfortablefor a patient to wear during tooth whitening treatment, the use of anexternal power supply through a cable may be preferable.

The supplying of power to and the controlling of the tooth whiteningapparatus 201 during tooth whitening treatment is performed by acontroller (not illustraten) connected to the tooth whitening apparatus201.

One controller may be connected to a plurality of tooth whiteningapparatuses 201, enabling a dentist to perform tooth whitening treatmentsimultaneously on a number of patients. Of course, the one controllershould be capable of controlling the tooth whitening duration,intensity, etc. of the respective tooth whitening apparatuses.

While the present disclosure has been described and illustrated hereinwith reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, and specificlanguage has been used to facilitate a general technical understandingthereof, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Here, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications andvariations can be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the presentdisclosure covers the modifications and variations of this disclosurethat come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. A head gear for a tooth whitening apparatus, the head gearcomprising: a side support contacting a side of a head; a toothwhitening apparatus support connected to the side support and on whichthe tooth whitening apparatus is installed; a top support contacting andfixed on a top of the head; a rear support contacting and fixed at arear of the head; and a coupler connecting the top support to the rearsupport.
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. The head gear according to claim1, wherein the rear support is capable of rotating upward and downwardabout the coupler.
 5. The head gear according to claim 1, wherein thetooth whitening apparatus support comprises: a slider connectorconnected to the side support; a slider connected to the sliderconnector; and a tooth whitening apparatus holder connected to theslider and on which the tooth whitening apparatus is installed.
 6. Thehead gear according to claim 5, wherein the slider is extendablyconnected to the slider connector.
 7. The head gear according to claim5, wherein the tooth whitening apparatus holder is detachably connectedto the slider.
 8. The head gear according to claim 5, wherein the toothwhitening apparatus holder is capable of rotating with respect to theslider.
 9. The head gear according to claim 1, wherein the side supportadjustably contacts the side of the head.
 10. The head gear according toclaim 1, wherein the side support comprises a speaker or a boneconduction vibrating device installed thereon.
 11. (canceled) 12.(canceled)
 13. (canceled)
 14. (canceled)
 15. (canceled)
 16. (canceled)17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled)
 19. A tooth whitening set comprising: aside support contacting a side of a head; a tooth whitening apparatussupport connected to the side support; and a tooth whitening apparatusinstalled on the tooth whitening apparatus support to radiate light onteeth.
 20. The tooth whitening set according to claim 19, wherein thetooth whitening apparatus is capable of moving forward and backward wheninstalled on the tooth whitening apparatus support.
 21. The toothwhitening set according to claim 19, further comprising: a top supportcontacting and fixed on a top of the head; and a rear support contactingand fixed at a rear of the head.
 22. The tooth whitening set accordingto claim 21, further comprising a coupler connecting the top support andrear support.
 23. The tooth whitening set according to claim 19, whereinthe tooth whitening apparatus comprises: a flat panel type substrate; aplurality of chip LEDs mounted on the substrate; and a power supplysupplying power to the chip LEDs.
 24. The tooth whitening set accordingto claim 19, wherein the tooth whitening apparatus comprises: asubstrate formed of a plurality of surfaces capable of enclosing a humanmouth; a plurality of chip LEDs mounted on each of the surfaces; and apower source supplying power to the chip LEDs.
 25. The tooth whiteningset according to claim 23, wherein a current supplied to chip LEDsmounted on sides of the substrate from the plurality of chip LEDs ismore intense than a current supplied to chip LEDs mounted on a middle ofthe substrate from the plurality of chip LEDs.
 26. The tooth whiteningset according to claim 24, wherein a current supplied to chip LEDsmounted on sides of the substrate from the plurality of chip LEDs ismore intense than a current supplied to chip LEDs mounted on a middle ofthe substrate from the plurality of chip LEDs.